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The drift history of the Lhasa terrane is crucial for understanding the tectonic evolution of Tethyan Oceans and Jurassic true polar wander. However, high‐quality Middle Jurassic paleomagnetic data from the Lhasa terrane are limited in number. Here we report a combined paleomagnetic and geochronologic study on the Yeba Formation volcanic rocks, dated at ∼170 Ma, from the Lhasa terrane. Robust field and reversal tests indicate that the characteristic remanent magnetizations are primary. Our results provide a reliable Middle Jurassic (∼170 Ma) paleopole at 29.8°N, 180.7°E with A95 = 5.7° and a paleolatitude of 14.4 ± 5.7°N for the Lhasa area. Compared with previous paleomagnetic and geologic evidence, we propose that the Meso‐Tethys Ocean probably began to close in the eastern part at ∼168 Ma and that the Lhasa terrane underwent a ∼2,900 km southward “monster shift” during the Late Jurassic.

The Tibetan Plateau is a complex amalgamation of several microcontinents that consist of, from north to south, the Kunlun-Qaidam, Songpan-Ganzi-Hoh Xil, Qiangtang, and Lhasa terranes (Figure 1a). The latter two, together with their southern Himalayas are traditionally considered to have drifted northward from Gondwana in the south and to have successively accreted to the Paleo-Asian continent in the north along the Jinsha suture zone, Bangong-Nujiang suture zone, and Indus-Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone (IYSZ), representing Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-Tethys oceanic relicts, respectively (Kapp & DeCelles, 2019;A. Yin & Harrison, 2000). Therefore, the evolution of the Paleo-, Meso-, and Neo-Tethys oceans, especially the Neo-Tethys Ocean, whose opening, subduction, and closure accompanied the final formation of the Himalayan orogen, plays a crucial role in understanding the tectonic evolution of the Himalayan thrust belt and the southern part of the Tibetan Plateau (Gehrels et al.

<p>The supplemental material contains characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) directions for the Abushan Formation redbeds (Table S1), Summary of Late Cretaceous redbeds paleomagnetic results from the Qiangtang (Table S2).</p>